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God’s call for each of us

by | Sep 5, 2016 | West District Web Page

I was driving to an appointment, and was already thinking about the next appointment on my schedule, when I saw an interesting sight along Thomas Ave. in Phoenix.

Two men were walking on the sidewalk, and one was carrying a cross, which looked to be as tall as the person carrying it.

Seeing this person carry this cross stirred a whole new awareness within my head and heart, and caused me to consider the power of the Cross in my own life.

The Cross reminds us of God’s deep stirring within us, and God’s unceasing love to us. The Cross reminds us that it is o.k. to be vulnerable with God, because that vulnerability is always met with forgiveness and grace.

The Cross also reminds us of the “call” that God speaks into each and every one of God’s children, and we are all God’s children.

Please receive the following, offered by Sister Elaine M. Prevallet:

“There is no “typical” call. Other persons, no doubt more open-minded and willing than I, seem to experience their call in a gentler process, involving a gradual clarifying. Others make step-by-step choices, learning from their experience, heeding the counsel of mentors and friends, sorting and discerning. Commitment then becomes a kind of distilling process guided over a period of time by the Holy Spirit. The focus too of the call can differ. I name “the desire for God” as the grounding of my own call; others might name their calls in terms of a life of service, community, or the poor. A call might be such that it requires all one’s life energies and a life commitment, or it might be, at a different level, a temporary call to service in a particular situation that lies as a burden on one’s heart. Its temporary quality does not make it any less a call. For most, the call has a particular container—a marriage, a church community, a mission site. At the deepest level, the call frees us. It enables us to see what really matters, to focus our love, to dedicate ourselves to something/ Someone larger than ourselves, and so to enter consciously into that continual stream of losing and finding ourselves that is the mystery of life. God uses a variety of ways to get through to us, tailoring the call to the condition of the recipient. No matter how the call comes, whether explosively or gently, the response has to be worked out in daily fidelity, in ordinary life. Keeping the focus in the midst of the seductive values of the culture becomes our life task.” — taken from “Minding the Call,” Weavings

I lost part of my false self, and gained part of my true self that day as I was reminded that God continually speaks into each of our lives and seeks to “get our attention.”  Through this never ending process of growth and call, God never wants us to forget that God loves us, and the Cross is an intimate reminder of that truth.

Sisters and brothers, thank you for your good and faithful work as those who serve in the name of the Resurrected One. It is a blessing to serve with each and every one of you.

Neil Leftwich
(2 Thessalonians 3:16)

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Author: Carla Whitmire

The Desert Southwest Conference is a diverse and loving organization with open doors to a variety of people and partners in ministry. Celebrating our connection and diversity, we offer various resources. Content on this site includes information from other organizations that may not reflect the official policies or Social Principles of The United Methodist Church or the Desert Southwest Conference.

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